ANCIENT INDIA-2

 ANCIENT INDIA(PREHISTORIC-700AD)

"OUR GREATEST GLORY IS NOT IN NEVER FALLING, BUT IN RISING EVERY TIME WE FALL".

POST MAURYAN EMPIRES(200 BC -300 CE)

THE FALL OF MAURYAN EMPIRE LED TO THE EMERGENCE OF VARIOUS SMALL IMPIRES. THE IMPIRES ARE-

1. SHUNGA DYNASTY(184 BC - 75 BC)

This dynasty was established by Pushyamitra shunga, the commander in chief of Brihadratha after killing him. The empire covered the northern, central and eastern India. the empire lived for a short frame of time and was dissolved by invaders. This dynasty was invaded by indo- greeks, Kalinga and Satavahanas.

REASON FOR COLLAPSE-• Attack by different empires

                                                   •Over attachment of the last ruler to a girl

2. INDO- GREEKS

This dynasty was established by the generals of alexander after he died. This was the first foreign dynasty over the Indian subcontinent. This dynasty was dissolved by the Sakas. The most powerful kind of this dynasty was Menander.

3. KANVA DYNASTY(75BC - 30 BC)

The Kanva dynasty was formed the same way the shunga dynasty was formed. Vasudeva Kanva killed the ruling king of shunga dynasty and established the Kanva dynasty. He was a minister in the court of Shunga king. Satavahanas attacked Kanva and have taken control over their territory. 

REASON FOR COLLAPSE- Attacked by the Satavahanas

                                                  

4. SATAVAHANA DYNASTY(200 BC - 350 CE)

This dynasty dominated the deccan part of India for almost three centuries. They were also known as the 'Andhras'. Most of the information about this dynasty comes from purans. Pulumavi IV was the last king of this dynasty. after his death, the empire fragmented into five smaller kingdoms.

5. SAKA DYNASTY(200 BC - 400 CE)

 This dynasty is also known as the Indo- scythians. They attacked and annexed the territory occupied by the Indo- greeks.  They were later attacked by the kushana empire, After the kushana empire they were attacked by the satavahanas and finally dissolved.

6. KUSHANA DYNASTY

This dynasty mostly covered north western India, Pakistan and Afghanistan and Tajikistan, This empire flourished under the rule of Kanishka. They slowly started to decline after the rise of local rules in India.

After the rise of so many small regional kingdoms, then came the Gupta empire.

GUPTA EMPIRE

The Gupta empire ruled over most of the Indian subcontinent for the next one and a half century. This period is classified as the Golden period of Indian history. The Gupta period produced scholars such as Kalidasa, Aryabhata, Varahamihira and Vatsyayana. Every thing flourished during this period, from trade to literature, from architecture to science and a lot more. But, due to loss of territory and constant attack by the Huns, the empire became economically weaker and collapsed. 

Again, after the collapse of Gupta Empire various local dynasties such as maukharis, maitrakas, pushyabhutis and gaudas came into existence.

HARSHA's EMPIRE

Harsha was earlier a member of the Vardhana dynasty. His biography harshacharita was written by his court poet banabhatta. He made kannauj as his capital city. When he tried to extend his power in the south, he was vanquished by the chalukyas.

CHALUKYA EMPIRE(600 CE- 1200 CE)

They are divided into three types

i) Badami Chalukyas(600CE -642CE)

ii) Eastern Chalukyas(642CE-1100CE)

iii) Western Chalukyas(1100CE-1200CE)

They ruled most of the deccan region for almost two centuries. the chalukyas had a great army comprised of Infantry, Cavalry, elephant unit and a dominant navy. 

ANCIENT INDIA-1

ANCIENT INDIA(PREHISTORIC-700AD) 

"India is the cradle of human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend and the great grandmother of tradition"

Indus Valley Civilisation(3300BC - 1300BC)

The signs of human activity in India can be traced back to somewhere between 4,00,000 BC to 2,00,000 BC. Looking for the evidence of human activities that long ago is not possible with the technology we have today. The first known civilisation of India is the Indus valley civilisation, which materialised somewhere around 3300 BC. The empire extended from modern day northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest India. The civilisation ended in 1300 BCE. Some experts believe that the drying of Saraswati river led to climate change and hence, the civilisation collapsed.  

REASON FOR COLLAPSE -  •Climate change 

                                                     •Drying of saraswati river

The Vedic Period(Prehistoric-500BC)

The period between the late copper age and the early iron age of India is termed as Vedic period.

Around 1500 BC, the aryans inhabited the north western land of India. But they gradually moved towards the north eastern and southern part of India. The early vedic period(1500 BC- 1200BC) saw the rise of small cities called janapada. In the later Vedic period (1100BC- 500BC), the discovery of iron tools led to the development of these janapadas into larger states called mahajanapadas, each having their own specific boundary. Assuredly, Magadha turned out to be the most powerful Mahajanapada due to the presence of fertile alluvial land and river Ganga and Son. Thus, Magadha gradually annexed all the other Mahajanapadas.

The Mauryan Empire

In 3rd century BC, Chandragupta Maurya confronted against the Nanda dynasty of Magadha and won the battle. Then, he established the imperial Mauryan empire. In the northwest, the empire extended till Kandahar, in the northeast, it included the entire Bengal province, covering entire central India and in the south, it stretched till Siddhaputra. This empire was no doubt the largest empire ever over the Indian subcontinent. During the reign of Ashoka, the empire was at the pinnacle of its power. After Ashoka's death, various weak rulers assessed the throne and the over expanded empire was losing its territory. Finally, the empire collapsed as the ruler Brihadratha was murdered by his commander in chief.

REASON FOR COLLAPSE - •Annexation by weak rulers.

                                                    •War with satavahana dynasty